Colors and Mayhem
by Scratchy Acid
Summary: Feeling pent up and uncared for, Karkat is in need of a new moirail. That is where his good friend Kanaya comes in. But will their relationship go even further than that? And what are the consequences of this one little mistake?
1. Initialize

**Chapter One: Initialize**

* * *

><p>Kanaya walked towards Karkat's hive, wearing a jade-colored jacket to protect herself from the cold weather outside. The wind was picking up and getting harsher, much to her disappointment. She had always preferred the warm weather over the cold, and it didn't help that Karkat's hive was about one more mile away.<p>

Perhaps she would get the chance to sleep over this time, as they often spent a lot of time at each other's hives after their meetings like this. It was always nice to have Karkat over for company, he made the familiar home feel even more cozy.

After quite a bit of walking, she had finally arrived at his hive and knocked on his door, awaiting his response. He had opened the door moments later and smiled at her.

"Hey Kanaya," he said. "You came at a pretty good time. Crabdad isn't home and won't be for quite some time. I assume you want to come in after walking through the cold?"

"Yes, please," said Kanaya. "I have brought a jacket as you can see, but had I known it would get so cold, I would have gotten a coat or something."

Karkat let Kanaya in and then closed the door, re-locking it. Kanaya instantly felt better at how warm the hive was, sighing softly as she began to heat up a little.

"Are you in a satisfactory mood to begin?" inquired Kanaya, turning back to Karkat and taking her jacket off. "If I am to understand what you have told me via Trollian, it is that you also wanted us to talk?"

Karkat nodded. "Yeah, I mean, we can do what we usually do, and then we could have a… feelings jam, possibly?" Kanaya could not believe her ears.

"You want to have a feelings jam afterwards? Oh my… this can only mean one thing. Are you and Gamzee no longer on speaking terms?" she gave him a knowing look, for he had been complaining about Gamzee for some time. "You know that typically only moirails indulge in feelings jams, and you and I are not…"

"I know, I know," he said with a grumble. "I know that it's a thing only moirails do with each other, but c'mon Kanaya, we spend so much time together and help each other out all the time. I'd rather have you as a moirail or something than have that shiteating clown as one…" That made Kanaya smile a little.

"Are you asking me to be your moirail?" she asked with a playful smile. Karkat blushed and bit his lip.

"Let's talk about that later," he said. "For now, I've gotta go and quench your thirst."

"Well now, when you put it like that it makes me sound as if I am some kind of deviant." The two of them sat on the couch and Karkat began to relax, taking a couple deep breaths.

"Thank you once again for doing this," said Kanaya, baring her fangs to show Karkat. She had indulged in the blood of every caste, sure, but Karkat's mutant blood was always the sweetest. The most succulent. It was almost like a drug that kept her coming back for more, much to the pain in Karkat's neck.

"No problem," said Karkat. "Always happy to help my new moirail," he said, smiling a bit. Kanaya laughed softly.

"I never agreed to that, Vantas," she said, getting closer to him. "Although if I am being honest with you, the answer will most likely be yes, although I wonder how Gamzee is going to feel when he finds out that he has lost you in a pale relationship."

"Fuck him," he said, before shooting her a glance. "Well, uh, not literally. You know what I mean," he said. Kanaya nodded.

"Shhh…" Kanaya dragged her tongue across Karkat's neck slowly, getting him ready as she always did. Karkat swallowed and felt strangely nervous, although he didn't know why. This was something they had always done, so why the nerves?

"Ready?" asked Kanaya. Karkat nodded. With that, Kanaya sank her fangs into Karkat's neck and grunted softly, beginning to drink his candy red blood from him. She put her hand on Karkat's shoulder, and her other one draped over his chest for leverage. Karkat felt Kanaya suck the blood from his neck and moaned, clenching his teeth just a bit before loosening up, and relaxing. The first bite always made him nervous, but he eased up at this point.

"Mmmmmm….~" moaned Kanaya, sucking down and slurping the blood from Karkat's body though his neck, being careful not to drain him as she drank it down. After about two minutes, she pulled her mouth away from his neck, a trail of blood oozing from her mouth and down her chin, matching the trail of blood oozing from the two puncture wounds on Karkat's neck. He winced and put pressure on his neck with his hand.

"Towel, get a towel," he urged, and Kanaya got up and fled to the bathroom, something she should have done earlier, admittedly, but she was feeling too anxious to think about it before. She returned and handed the towel to Karkat, letting him put pressure on the wound and relax more. He felt a little light-headed, but it would later pass as it always did.

"Did you drink enough?" he asked, his eyes fluttering a little as he leaned back on the couch. Kanaya nodded, using the other end of the towel to wipe away at her mouth and chin.

"More than enough," she said, licking her lips a little. She smiled and nuzzled against Karkat, sighing with delight. "I know I always say this but I will say it again. Thank you so much for helping me with my craving," she said. "You are wonderful."

"Heh, it's nothing," he said, relaxing against her as well. These moments they shared were intimate indeed, and happened about every other week. But before that, it was every month.

"It's not even that I only want your blood," she said to reassure him, sensing what he was thinking. "It's that you live the closest and-"

"And everyone else is an asshole about it?" he asked, looking at her. Kanaya thought for a bit.

"I wouldn't put it like _that_…" she said, smiling warmly. Karkat chuckled, rolling his eyes. The two of them rested for quite some time in the delightful silence before Karkat was comfortable enough to speak about his feelings.

"Gamzee is an awful moirail," he says, sighing. "Every SINGLE time I have a problem, his solution is the same. Drink some of that stupid Faygo crap, or have some of that unhealthy sopor slime bullshit… it's tiring, and it's so infuriating, which only makes my feelings worse. He doesn't pacify me, Kanaya, and since sopor just pacifies him by default, it's like he doesn't even need me anymore…"

Kanaya frowned at hearing this, and held Karkat close to her, gently. "Continue." Karkat sighed and kept talking, spilling his feelings.

"It's like I don't even matter anymore, and every attempt to get his attention just fails. Those stupid soporifics of his are killing every brain cell in his stupid thinkpan and… I don't know, I feel like it's my fault? As his moirail I should have made a better attempt to stop him from doing that stuff… this whole thing could have been my fault."

"Nonsense," said Kanaya, petting Karkat's cheek gently and with affection. "You could not have always been able to keep track of someone like him. He most likely would have continued to indulge himself with dangerous substances," she said reassuringly. "This is not your fault, Karkat, I am sure."

Karkat sighed. "Are you really sure?" Kanaya nodded.

"You tried to stop him several times according to what you have told me prior. In addition, one cannot have a moirallegiance if both people do not try to help each other. You tried your best from here, but Gamzee never did try to help you, did he?" Karkat frowned and shook his head.

"Barely…" he said. "Which is why I wanted to talk to you about this. I feel so much more comfortable talking to you about anything than I ever did with Gamzee…"

"Really?" she said, a little surprised. She knew that Karkat enjoyed speaking with her, and she loved talking with him as well, but to hear him say it in this way warmed her heart.

"Fuck yeah," he said with a smile. "Being a moirail is more than just being good friends, I know. It's about keeping each other in check. Well… don't I keep you in check with my blood and keep your cravings from getting out of control? And you pacify me with your words, and your voice and advice and stuff… ugh, this is making me feel so fucking embarrassed…"

He glanced away and swallowed, but once again Kanaya seemed to know what he was thinking. She put her hand to his chin and turned his head to look at her again. "Shooosh, Karkat dear. Your points are valid and make sense. If you want to take our relationship past pity and wish for us to be moirails… I am more than happy to reciprocate, as always." She smiled, matching the one on Karkat's face.

"Really?" said Karkat. "You mean it?" Kanaya nodded.

"Consider us moirails from this moment onwards, dear," she said, smiling. She patted his cheek again with gentle affection, looking him in the eyes with endearment. Karkat snuggled up closer to her, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.

This closeness was new, even for them, and Karkat still felt a little shy and nervous from it, but he figured it would soon pass. Kanaya welcomed it dearly, loving to see Karkat happy and looking content and safe. She sighed gently as she held him in her arms, cuddling him. This was surely the beginning of something amazing.


	2. Rest a While

"Are you feeling better, Karkat?" asked Kanaya, still cuddling close to Karkat and helping to calm him from his negative thoughts. Karkat smiled and nodded. He always smiled a lot more whenever Kanaya was around.

"Yeah, but there's still the main issue of telling Gamzee he's no longer my moirail," he said. "I'm a little fucking apprehensive about that, you know?"

"I understand, dear," she said. "Take your time in letting him know, but make sure you tell him once you are good and ready." But Karkat suspected that prolonging something like this was just going to make him more uncomfortable, so he huffed and broke away from Kanaya, standing up from the couch. She looked puzzled.

"Where are you going?" she asked. Karkat grabbed his laptop and opened up his Trollian application.

"I'm just going to get it over with," he said. "Why wait and prolong something like this?"

Kanaya shook her head and put her hands over his. "Karkat, trust me, it can wait. There is no need to be so hasty in breaking up with Gamzee in the pale quadrant. While it is necessary, I would still like to spend some more time with you without you jumping into a long discussion with him.

"Fine," he said, closing his laptop and putting it on the table. He crossed his arms and sighed. "This relationship stuff can be complicated sometimes you know."

"Of course it is," said Kanaya, snuggling up to him again, her hand on his chest. "If it were any easy it wouldn't be as rewarding." That made Karkat chuckle, and Karkat's chuckle warmed Kanaya's heart. "Your laughter is the most adorable thing on Alternia.'

"False," he said. "I can't believe you would say such an outright fucking lie."

"Nope, truth," she said. "Your laughter is the most amazing thing, truly." Now Karkat was even blushing a little. "I've never had a moirail before, Karkat. I would like to be the best moirail you have ever had, but I suppose I could use a little help."

"Like I said, you're doing a great job already," he said. "You're always listening to me and keeping me calm. I'll try and do the same with you, alright?" Kanaya nodded.

"You already listen to my troubles and keep me calm," said Kanaya. "But that is good to hear! Perhaps I could also ask Nepeta what else there is to this moirallegiance thing."

"Yeah that could help," said Karkat. Outside, the wind began to pick up as it whistled through the air, and it also began to rain. Kanaya frowned and glanced over at her jacket. That measly thing wasn't going to protect her from the oncoming storm.

"You can stay over," said Karkat. "It won't be a problem, and there's no way I'd ever let you walk through a storm like this." She sighed.

"Thank you," she said. "Now if there's nothing else plaguing your mind?"

"Nothing else, I'll let you know if there's anything bugging me," he said. "Now let's watch some TV."

* * *

><p>Karkat blinked a couple times, waking up from his nap. His breath tasted of unpleasant saliva and he groaned, rubbing his eyes as he yawned and glanced around. The living room was dark, and the only thing providing light was the TV, which was still quietly playing some program. He looked next to him and saw Kanaya, still asleep.<p>

Karkat got up from the couch and stretched and, knowing Kanaya was a heavy sleeper, picked her up princess-style and brought her upstairs to his room, placing her gently down into his recuperacoon. He watched Kanaya's body sink just a little bit into the green, gooey fluid before she settled onto the surface, looking like the adorable, sleepy troll she was. He could hear the pitter-patter of the rain on the windows and the roof of his hive, annoyed at the storm for making such an annoying sound, but also glad that Kanaya could spend the night instead of walk home through it. There would be no debates this time since Kanaya was asleep. She was going to sleep in his goddamn recuperacoon and he would take the couch downstairs whether she liked it or not.

She had told Karkat that she had felt bad for taking his room from him last time she slept over, but it didn't matter to him. He always assured her it was fine and that he had oftentimes just slept downstairs anyway due to conveniences (like the refrigerator being closer).

Karkat walked back downstairs and jumped onto the couch and sighed, rubbing his eyes and getting ready for bed. But no, something was bugging him. He knew that perhaps he should just tell Gamzee right now about the bad news. Well, it was bad news for him, anyway. Karkat grabbed his laptop and got right down to business.

**carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

**CG: GAMZEE ARE YOU THERE?**

**TC: HaHa yEaH BrO WhAt dO YoU NeEd?**

**CG: I NEED YOU TO LISTEN UP BECAUSE I'VE GOT SOME SHIT TO SAY.**

**CG: AND NOT THE GOOD KIND OF SHIT YOU'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT IN THE SAME LIGHT AS YOUR SOPOR SLIME BULLSHIT.**

**CG: BUT THE BAD KIND OF SHIT THAT REALLY STINKS AND MAKES YOU FEEL BAD FOR INVOLVING YOURSELF IN.**

**CG: THE KIND OF SHIT THAT YOU STEP IN ON YOUR WAY TO ENTERING SOME KIND OF ESTABLISHMENT AND YOU DON'T NOTICE UNTIL SOME KIND OF INOPPORTUNE TIME.**

**CG: SO MAYBE YOU JUST SORT OF SCRAPE IT OFF OF YOUR SHOE AND ONTO THE COLD CEMENT.**

**TC: WhAt**

**CG: BASICALLY WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS**

**CG: YOU AND I CAN'T BE MOIRAILS ANYMORE AND YOU NEED TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE.**

**TC: WaIt wHy i tHoUgHt i wAs a bItChTiTs mOiRaIl bRo**

**TC: :o(**

**CG: GAMZEE NO YOU ABSOLUTELY WERE NOT.**

**CG: AND EVERY SINGLE TIME I TRIED TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT IT YOU WOULD BLOW ME OFF.**

**CG: AND NOT IN THE GOOD WAY EITHER.**

**TC: DaMn bRo i hAd nO IdEa yOu wErE AlL Up aNd fEeLiN ThAt wAy**

**TC: ThIs iS CoMiN RiGhT OuTtA NoWhErE ToO**

**CG: UGH SEE YOU'RE STILL NOT LISTENING! WHAT THE FUCK.**

**CG: IF YOU'VE BEEN PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO ME AT ALL FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS YOU'D KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE.**

* * *

><p>Kanaya sighed, floating around in Karkat's recuperacoon. Her eyes were lidded as she relaxed in the warm, welcoming goop. She was awake when Karkat had picked her up and placed her in here. She really did enjoy pretending to be asleep so that she could feel herself being held in Karkat's strong arms.<p>

She moved a hand through the slime, splashing a little bit in the relaxing, pacifying, sleep-inducing fluid. Aside from Karkat having the most delicious blood she's ever had, he also had a bigger and more comfortable recuperacoon. However, Kanaya was unable to sleep with her clothes on.

Some trolls were able to sleep in their recuperacoons with their clothes on, but she found it messy and not as comfortable as she would like it to be, so she stood up in the shallow recuperacoon and brought her hands down to her shirt, and started to undress herself.

Once Kanaya had gotten all of her clothes off and folded them nicely, she put them down on Karkat's table and got back inside, stark naked. Now she was truly at peace, sighing as she relaxed and fell asleep, warm dreams approaching.


	3. Breakfast

Green.

Kanaya awoke, and the slippery sopor slime was the first thing to catch her eye. She yawned, feeling just a little bit of a chill in Karkat's room. She was still naked, as she enjoyed sleeping that way, so she was a little bit colder than she could have been.

Kanaya stretched as she stood up in Karkat's recuperacoon, figuring she had better hurry and get dressed before Karkat found her in the nude like this. He still did not know that she undressed to use his recuperacoon, and she thought it would be best for the time being if she just did not share this knowledge.

She got up and out of the warm, green fluid, tracking some footprints as she walked along Karkat's floor. She quickly got her clothes back on and, finding nothing out of place, made the short descent downstairs to Karkat's living room.

She couldn't help but giggle as her eyes looked over Karkat's sleeping form. He was lying on his couch, half his body splayed out over the edge. His laptop was still on, from the looks of it, and she went over to him quietly.

Kanaya looked over at the laptop and read over the conversation he had with Gamzee, figuring as soon as she woke up that something like this would have happened. She read it all and bit her lip, frowning a little. It appears that Karkat had told Gamzee that he would no longer be his moirail, in a way that only Karkat could.

She walked into the kitchen, intent on making Karkat some pancakes, when a gigantic crab-like lusus quickly spun around from in front of the sink, glaring at her. It appeared to be Karkat's lusus, and he was wearing a "Kiss the Cook" apron.

"_SKREEEEE!_"

"Good morning," said Kanaya, smiling warmly at the greeting. "I see you have beat me to the pancakes."

"_SKREEEECH!_"

"I slept great, thank you." Kanaya had met Karkat's lusus long before, as she did stay over from time to time. The first meeting with Crabdad was certainly… interesting. She could remember it like it was exactly one sweep ago…

_Kanaya and Karkat had finished watching one of his favorite romcoms and were in the process of watching another when a loud knock came from a giant, nearby door, followed by an ear-piercing screech. This door was different from the one Kanaya entered - it was adjacent to the front door as if it was clearly built for the entry of things that were much larger than any troll._

"_Oh fuck," said Karkat. "It's Crabdad. Goddamn it I think he's back from wherever-the-fuck." The knocking on the door persisted._

"_I believe he requires assistance in opening the door," said Kanaya. "I will go."_

"_No no, you stay here, I got it," said Karkat, grumbling and making his way over to the large door and unlatching it. Kanaya held her hand over her mouth to muffle her giggling._

"_I thought you used that door whenever furniture could not fit through the front one," she said. Karkat pulled open the giant door and, sure enough, there was Karkat's lusus. He was holding grocery bags in his giant claws, hulking through the door. He made a screech of inquiry when he noticed Kanaya sitting on the couch, and she sheepishly waved hello to him._

"_That's Kanaya," said Karkat. "One of my better friends. We were just watching movies." Crabdad screeched once more, flailing his arms about. A piece of fruit flew out of one of the grocery bags, landing on the floor with a thud._

"_YES, we were watching movies and doing NOTHING else, holy fuck," yelled Karkat, standing his ground. "Kanaya and I aren't in any quadrant, don't worry." But Karkat's lusus waved his claws around some more, arguing back and forth with his troll. It seemed that whenever Crabdad would make loud noises, ear-piercing noises, Karkat would yell back at him and match him in volume. They were both moving their arms wildly, as if this was some kind of intimidation match. Kanaya could only watch in amazement._

"_Karkat, it is fine," Kanaya tried to say quietly. "Perhaps we should… er, Karkat…? The movie…"_

_Crabdad's rapid flailing while he was holding the groceries only caused more food to fall out, but it seemed his anger was preventing him from noticing. Suddenly the arguing between troll and lusus got so intense that an apple flew out of one of the bags, and soared through the air before hitting Kanaya squarely in the forehead, sending her backwards onto the couch, knocking her out instantly._

_When she awoke, she saw that Karkat was holding some kind of ice pack on her forehead and that Crabdad was making some food in the kitchen. He looked worried, which made her smile a bit._

"_Is this what you meant when you said that meeting your lusus would be a headache?" asked Kanaya. Karkat didn't smile, he was too busy tending to her and making her feel comfortable._

"_Don't move around so much," he said, scowling over at Crabdad's direction again. "He's making you an Apology Pizza."_

"_He's making a what?"_

"_Whenever he and I argue a lot, he would make Apology Pizza to help make things better. So he's making one for you now."_

"_Oh. That's… cool."_

Kanaya smiled at the memory. That bruise didn't go away for quite some time. "Would you like some help in making breakfast?"

Crabdad nodded and shoved a pack of bacon over to her, instructing her to start frying it. He brought his claws close together, and then pulled them apart in an arc motion.

"Lots of bacon?" asked Kanaya. Crabdad nodded again.

"Okay Vantas Senior, you got it."

* * *

><p>Karkat awoke and stood up from the couch, cracking his back and sighing at how good it felt, before yawning and rubbing his eyes.<p>

"Do I smell bacon?" he asked to no one in particular. Kanaya called him from the kitchen.

"Yes you do," she said. "It is almost done!"

"_SKREEE!_"

Kanaya was helping with breakfast? That was awfully nice of her, he thought. But then again, Kanaya was awfully nice most of the time - something he really appreciated. He was about to get up when a chime came from his laptop. A message from one of his friends.

**AG: Heeeeeeeey Karkat. Rise and shine!**

Oh hell no. It was too early for this shit. He closed his laptop and turned on the TV, not wanting to deal with THAT friend right now, lest he get a headache - and not the apple-to-the-forehead kind of headache.

Some time later, Kanaya walked into the living room and sat next to Karkat. "The pancakes are almost done," she said.

"You were making breakfast with Crabdad?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. "Sorry if he was a pain in the ass."

"Not at all!" she said. "It was quite fun, honestly. He's a great lusus. He had quite a few stories from when you were a wriggler." Kanaya smirked, and Karkat's heart sank into his stomach.

"What… what kind of stories?" asked Karkat, looking nervously to Kanaya. She laughed.

"Nothing seriously embarrassing, don't worry! Just some tidbits here and there." Suddenly Kanaya looked down at Karkat's shirt, and frowned, putting her hand to her cheek in thought.

"Oh, you weren't wearing your sleepy crab pajamas this time?" she asked, unable to hold back her grin. Karkat's eyes widened.

"HE TOLD YOU ABOUT MY CRAB PAJAMAS?" he yelled. "CRABDAD YOU FUCKING FUCK!" Kanaya was laughing now, matching the deep laughter coming from the kitchen. Karkat's cheeks turned red and he crossed his arms, looking away with a huff. "I want you out of here after breakfast so I can get a giant fucking box and ship Crabdad first class all the way across the fucking planet."

"Hey come on, I was only teasing," assured Kanaya. She put her hand on his lap, getting his attention, and she smiled. "I just wanted to see you blush. It makes you look even more adorable than you usually are."

That only served to make him blush more, and he smiled softly back at her. "Shut up…"

They shared this nice and quiet moment for a short while. Just Kanaya's hand on Karkat's lap as they shared in their mutual gaze. A loud screech is what interrupted them. "Oh," said Kanaya. "Breakfast is ready."

Karkat and Kanaya made their way to the kitchen and sat at the table, while Crabdad laid out all of the delicious-looking and mouthwatering food onto it. Blueberry pancakes and strawberries, chocolate pancakes and bacon, as well as scrambled eggs and hash browns, all for Karkat and Kanaya to share. Their mouths watered at the sight of all the delicious food.

"I can't believe you helped make all of this!" said Karkat with surprise. "You never told me you could-"

"_SKREEEEEEEEEEE!_" yelled Crabdad.

"I AM NOT DOUBTING YOUR CULINARY PROWESS, YOU INSIPID NOOKLICKING SHITASS," yelled Karkat. "You always make the best fucking food ever, shut up." Crabdad smiled and crossed his arms, holding a spatula with one claw, nodding. Karkat looked back at Kanaya.

"I didn't know you could cook," he said. Kanaya smiled and nodded.

"Oh come now, do you think fashion is my only strong subject?"

"Fashion and being fucking awesome," said Karkat. "Let's add cooking to that list."

"Oh, you flatter me," she said, grabbing her utensils. "Now hush, and dig in."


End file.
